Editorial | A papal presser

Many Catholics are a pretty demoralized bunch these days. And who can blame them?

They've endured horrific revelations of the child sexual abuse scandal, a church bent more on condemnation than compassion and a male-dominated hierarchy that seems fixated on women's reproductive rights without giving them a voice in governance.

But suddenly, just five months into his papacy, Pope Francis has offered a refreshing new approach to Catholicism with his extraordinary and candid comments Tuesday, particularly regarding gays in the church.

"Who am I to judge them if they're seeking the Lord in good faith?" he asked an astonished planeload of reporters returning with him to Rome from Brazil following his first - and wildly successful - foreign trip.

While not a change in church teaching, it is a dramatic shift in tone for the Roman Catholic Church that has condemned homosexuality as a moral evil and discouraged gay men from becoming priests.

"He's completely changed the narrative about the church," said John L. Allen, a correspondent with The National Catholic Reporter who was on board the plane with Pope Francis. "In five months now, the dominant Catholic story is 'Charismatic Pope Takes World By Storm.' "

"I think there is this palpable sense that Pope Francis might be that agent of renewal who enables people to say 'It's cool to be Catholic,' " Chad C. Pecknold, a theology professor at Catholic University, told The Washington Post.

Pope Francis' comments came during an impromptu and extremely unusual 81-minute press conference in which correspondents reported he spoke openly and didn't dodge a single question - including one about what's in the black bag he carried on the trip.

The answer: his razor, a breviary, or prayer book, and a book about St. Teresa. "It wasn't the suitcase with the codes for the atomic bombs," he said, one of several mild jokes he offered during the session.

He also spoke about the need to give women a greater role in the church - while acknowledging a predecessor, Pope John Paul II, closed the door on the ordination of women as priests. Regarding divorced Catholics, Pope Francis called it a "time for mercy" and suggested the church might revisit the matter as it considers "how to move forward with the pastoral care of marriage."

He openly addressed the need for reforms at the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank that could include closing it and took a questions about the supposed "gay lobby" within the Vatican, saying he hadn't seen it and joked no one has it stamped on Vatican ID cards.

But it was his simple refusal to judge gays that has caught the world's attention.

It offers new respect for gays and lesbians and offers Catholics a chance to start to feel good about themselves and their church.

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Editorial | A papal presser

Many Catholics are a pretty demoralized bunch these days. And who can blame them?